Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Oku/The Secret

No, actually it is
me, but I want to blame someone else. I spend a bit of time reviewing other
bike blogs and there are some traits that cut across most of them.

First, they have lots of pictures. Of bikes. Bike porn is good. I like it. I
also notice that few of the shots that show up on these sites have much actual
bike riding going on. Mostly they are shots of bikes out in the woods or in
some urban setting. Perfectly clean and posed bikes. Bikes that look like
they've never been ridden. I'm still looking for that elusive shot of a crank
arm with signs of wear.

Second, the authors
of these blogs seem to have a different bike for every possible riding
situation and they're always upgrading or changing parts. I like parts and
bikes. I really do. I just don't understand how someone can afford, let alone
justify having multiple 4K+ bikes in the garage. You can only ride one at a
time.

Third. Well, the
third is really an extension of the second - there's this strange belief that
each riding situation requires a specific bike - the perfect commuter, the
perfect trail bike, the perfect training bike, the perfect beer run bike.

Product review shots
are likewise stationary and full of products that look brand new, never worn,
directly out of a catalog. (See: http://cyclesinlife.com/gore-alp-x-2-0-gore-tex-active-jacket-review/)
Seriously, I don't believe you actually ride in any of the gear you review
because I ain't seeing you ride. I ain't seeing mud and bugs and dog shit
splattered on the back of your jacket. I don't see a single flaw in your helmet
or finger-print on your glasses. It's like a fashion blog, but with bikes. I
can't even call these folks hipsters. Cuz they ain't.

There are
exceptions. Yes there are. Gypsy By Trade is one. This is a bike blog where
bikes get ridden. Maybe the distinction is that the blogs where folks actually
ride and use the shit that they take pictures of and these others is
advertising dollars, maybe some folks write their blogs in an attempt to create
a second career as a paid writer while others are writers who happen to bike
and want to share?

Why am I debasing
myself in this way? Why am I going down that wormhole of the blog post about
blog posts?

Because I've got
nothing else to say right now. I've had some awesome rides lately. Some by
myself. Some with my son. Some with my dogs. But I want to hold them close to
the vest. They've not be revelatory rides. Just good, standard, everyday rides
in terrain I've ridden before. And I'm trying to remind myself that writing
about a ride doesn't make it any better than what it was in that moment when it
happened, which frees me to focus on the ride. There is nothing worse that
spending a ride thinking about what you want to write about the ride. It
destroys authenticity and mediates the whole experience through the lens of how
it can be presented to others.